Bass Woods

[Radd]

for RECORDING. I'm guessing the type of wood wouldn't matter quite as much for DI but would matter quite a bit for micing an amp? I also have this idea now that I should stay away from basswood but what if that basswood body has say a maple top or something? Could the negative tonal qualities of the basswood be negated by the maple top?

Other than mahogany and I'm guessing alder, what other woods produce great tone for RECORDING metal bass? Maple? Bubina? Zebrawood? Ash?
I'm guessing all of the above.

What about a zebrawood top on an alder body? I'm very curious about this one.

I'm trying to get a general idea of what are the best woods/combination of woods for BASS for RECORDING metal.

Anyone have any experiences they care to share?

 

[JBroll]

Bubinga is typically a top, and a great one at that. Not sure I'd use mahogany except when other gear is pretty bright - favorite guitar wood but it's easy for it to be too dark. Alder is one of my favorite woods for bass; I don't care for it in guitars, but in basses it has a nice growl to it when treated right. Ash is another standard. Also, anything Warwick uses is worth trying at least once.

Jeff

 

[Tommy Gun]

It really depends on what kind of tone you are going for. In metal, bass has several possible voices... If you want that Signature D.D. Verni Bright Bite, you want Maple (a "Rick", if you can score one)... For that low-end heavy thud and sustain, you want something Mahogany, like a Thunderbird. Other than that, you can get into a lot of the specific tones that you get from guys that use Swampash, Poplar, and Basswood.

 

[Radd]

It really depends on what kind of tone you are going for. In metal, bass has several possible voices... If you want that Signature D.D. Verni Bright Bite, you want Maple (a "Rick", if you can score one)... For that low-end heavy thud and sustain, you want something Mahogany, like a Thunderbird. Other than that, you can get into a lot of the specific tones that you get from guys that use Swampash, Poplar, and Basswood.

I've always loved D.D.'s tone and just about everyone elses. Can you mention some more names with wood? I'm interested.
I guess what it boils down to is I'd like versatility. Some bright, some growl.
I'm not looking for guitar model suggestions, just wood.

I really like the bass tone on Warrel Dane's masterpiece.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I tell you what man... I'll consult with my roommate on this one. He is probably the most knowledgeable, and greatest bass player I've ever met or even heard... much less, had the privilege to work with. He gets home from the beach sometime this evening. I'll mull it over with him, and try to get some kind of comprehensive list from him for you. I would trust his advice on basses, their tone, and recording them over anyone else... and I do mean ANYONE. I'll get back to you about sometime tomorrow evening.

 

[ConspiracyBass]

I have a cheap Cort bass that has an Agathis body and it has the best tone out of all the basses I own. It just has that midrange tightness that you want in a metal bass.

Agathis gets a bad rep cause its only used in cheap guitar/basses, but I'll be damned if isn't a great tone wood. Ash is good for that all around beefy tone same as mahogany. I'd say basswood falls in between alder and ash.

All that said, you could have two of the exact same basses and they could sound different. So yeah.

 

[Radd]

I tell you what man... I'll consult with my roommate on this one. He is probably the most knowledgeable, and greatest bass player I've ever met or even heard... much less, had the privilege to work with. He gets home from the beach sometime this evening. I'll mull it over with him, and try to get some kind of comprehensive list from him for you. I would trust his advice on basses, their tone, and recording them over anyone else... and I do mean ANYONE. I'll get back to you about sometime tomorrow evening.

Cool, thanks!

 

[beyond dead]

also, i thought i would add that body wood would play just as significant a role in tone with both di and amped recordings

 

[coldthrn]

Im building a guitar out of purpleheart. I hope it is pretty bright, Ill tell you one thing it is a bitch to work with. Might as well make the whole guitar out of ebony.

 

[Razorjack]

Swamp Ash and Wenge are my prefered woods. I do quite like the combination of Bubinga for a body and Wenge for a neck too (can you tell I'm a Warwick freak!!).

 

[egan.]

Im building a guitar out of purpleheart. I hope it is pretty bright, Ill tell you one thing it is a bitch to work with. Might as well make the whole guitar out of ebony.

Should be quite bright! Heavy too!

To the original question, I consider swamp ash and alder to be obvious choices for rock/metal bass. Typically you would want to stay on the brighter side a la stingray.
That said my main bass is mahogony w/ a maple top which can give some really deep lows which I love. It has a really specific sound but does require some active preamp love to come to life. IME this is sort of how many warwicks are as well-- they can seem a little dull acoustically but can sound really cool with the right boost.
OTH I have a swamp ash lakland that just oozes rock straight out of the gate. Less unique but it will work every time.
It really depends what you want.

 

[Radd]

Thanks all. No experiences with a zebrawood top on an alder body?

 

[egan.]

Thanks all. No experiences with a zebrawood top on an alder body?

No experience there as that is quite a rare combo. I did find this quote from a noted luthier:

I have seen Zebra used for solid bodies but we have never done that here at KSB. My opinion of the wood as a Top and Back laminate is that of a wood similar to Maple.

 

[Radd]

No experience there as that is quite a rare combo. I did find this quote from a noted luthier:

Thanks. I did see that on the Warmoth site that its similiar to maple.
Seems like it could be pretty good or even killer.

 

[ConspiracyBass]

If you want a good metal/rock bass, just buy one with a P/J setup (no matter the wood). Make sure the P is split with the treble side towards the neck and the bass side toward the bridge.

Thank me later.